QH 

105 

V7T37 


THOMPSON 

NATURAL  HISTORY 
OF  VERMONT 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Natural  ^istotg  of 


AN  ADDRESS 


BY  ZADOCK  THOMPSON. 


Natural  f)i*torjj  of  bcrmont. 


AN 


ADDRESS 

DELIVERED   AT   BOSTON, 


BEFORE  THE 


BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY, 

JUNE,  1850, 


BY    ZADOCKTHOMPSON. 


BURLINGTON  : 
PUBLISHED   BY  CHAUNCEY   GOODRICH. 

1850." 


lo.<5 
Y 

A  D  D  K  E  S  S. 


MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  SOCIETY  : 

WHEN  I  received  your  kind  invitation  to  appear 
before  you  on  this  occasion,  I  immediately  wrote  a 
reply,  in  which,  after  expressing-  my  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  honor  done  me,  I  respectfully  declined 
it.  In  that  reply,  I  stated  that,  although  I  had  ever 
felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  affairs  of  this  Society,  and 
had  at  different  times  contributed  a  few  trifling  things, 
from  my  own  neighborhood,  to  its  collections,  yet  my 
diffidence  and  ignorance  of  what  would  be  expected 
of  me,  would  make  me  extremely  reluctant  to  appear 
before  it  on  this  occasion,  even  if  I  could  do  it  without 
having  any  fears  of  bringing  discredit  upon  myself  or 
upon  the  Institution.  But  when  I  considered  the 
opportunities  I  had  enjoyed,  and  my  qualifications  for 
this  position,  (or  rather  the  want  of  them,)  an  accept- 
ance of  the  invitation  appeared  to  me  to  be  little  less 
than  downright  presumption :  and  I  there  stated 
that,  for  a  person  who  had  always  resided,  as  I  had 
done,  among  the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont — who 
had  never  been  so  far  from  home  as  Boston,  perhaps,  a 
dozen  times  in  his  life — who  had  done  what  little  he 
had  done  in  the  business  of  Natural  History,  without 
any  associates  engaged  in  like  pursuits — without  hav- 
ing access  to  any  collections  of  specimens — and  almost 


without  books;  for  a  person,  who  had  always  been 
thus  situated,  to  attempt  to  discourse  upon  the  general 
subject  of  Natural  History,  before  the  Naturalists  of 
Boston  and  vicinity,  who  have  enjoyed  years  of  mutual 
aid  and  intercourse,  and  who  have  been  privileged 
with  easy  access  to  ample  collections  of  specimens  and 
books,  appeared  to  me  as  absurd  as  would  be  an 
attempt  of  Le  Vender's  new  planet,  Neptune,  to  illu- 
minate the  Sun. 

Having  delayed,  for  a  few  days,  the  transmission  of 
this  reply,  and  having  in  the  meantime  reflected  some- 
what upon  the  subject,  I  finally  changed  my  determi- 
nation, and  concluded  that,  if  it  would  be  consistent 
with  the  occasion  for  me  to  confine  my  remarks  princi- 
pally to  the  sphere  of  my  own  observations — to  the 
productions  of  my  own  neighborhood — and  to  the 
advantages  and  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  cultivation 
of  Natural  History  in  newly  settled  country  places,  I 
would  venture  to  accept  the  invitation.  This  change 
of  my  determination  was  not  on  account  of  any  change 
of  views  of  my  own  qualifications  to  discuss  the  gen- 
eral subject  of  Natural  History,  but  because  I  thought 
it  possible  that  I  might  say  something  respecting  the 
productions  of  a  country  so  little  known  as  Vermont, 
which  would  be  new  and  interesting  to  many  of  the 
members  of  this  Society;  and,  if  I  failed  in  this,  my 
veiy  failure  would  confirm  the  truth  of  my  statements 
in  relation  to  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  cultivation 
of  Natural  History  in  country  places. 

The  State  of  Vermont,  in  which  I  reside,  being 
entirely  without  a  sea-board,  is,  consequently,  wholly 
destitute  of  that  great  and  interesting  variety  of  pro- 
ductions furnished  by  the  ocean,  with  the  exception  of 


those  which  are  now  only  found  in  the  fossil  state. 
Hence,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  Vermont  would 
equal,  in  the  variety  of  its  fauna  and  botany,  those 
neighboring  States,  which  can  number  the  marine  with 
their  terrestrial  productions.  Its  settlement,  too,  took 
place  at  a  period  much  later  than  that  of  any  of  the 
other  New  England  States,  and  the  people  have,  hith- 
erto, necessarily,  been  so  much  occupied  in  clearing 
away  the  forests  and  providing  the  means  of  subsis- 
tence, as  to  allow  them  neither  the  time  nor  the  advan- 
tages for  scientific  pursuits,  which  are  enjoyed  in  the 
older  States.  Consequently,  the  number  of  those  who 
have  made  any  attempt  to  investigate  our  natural  his- 
tory has  been  exceedingly  small,  compared  with  the 
numbers  engaged  in  like  pursuits  in  other  States. 
Hence,  it  would  not  be  surprising,  should  it  be  found 
that  Vermont  has  been  less  thoroughly  explored  than 
the  neighboring  States — those  States,  especially,  in 
which  legislative  aid  has  been  added  to  their  other 
advantages. 

The  most  prominent  characteristic  in  the  physical 
features  of  Vermont  is  the  range  of  Green  Mountains. 
These  mountains,  which  give  name  to  the  State,  extend 
through  its  entire  length  from  south  to  north,  and  have 
an  important  relation  to  the  various  animal  and  veget- 
able productions.  The  two  slopes  of  this  range,  one 
terminating  in  Connecticut  river  on  the  east,  and  the 
other  in  Lake  Champlain  and  Hudson  river  on  the 
west,  are  so  dissimilar  in  their  characteristic  produc- 
tions, that  they  may  be  regarded  as  two  distinct  prov- 
inces for  the  labors  of  the  naturalist.  While  the  east- 
ern slope  is,  in  its  character,  clearly  identified  with 
New  England,  the  western  exhibits,  as  clearly,  the 


characteristics  of  New  York  and  the  western  States  ; 
and  this  distinction  is  more  or  less  observable  in  all 
the  three  kingdoms  of  nature — in  the  rocks  and  min- 
erals, in  the  vegetables,  and  in  the  animals. 

The  geology  and  mineralogy  of  Vermont  have, 
during-  a  few  years  past,  received  considerable  atten- 
tion. At  the  commencement  of  the  geological  surveys 
in  the  neighboring  States,  there  were  in  Vermont  a 
few  individuals  who  were  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
those  subjects  to  be  able  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the 
importance  of  such  surveys,  not  only  for  advancing  the 
cause  of  science,  but  for  developing  the  resources  of  the 
country ;  and  they  no  sooner  saw  them  in  the  course 
of  successful  prosecution  abroad,  than  they  began  to 
urge  upon  the  Legislature  of  Vermont  the  advanta- 
ges of  a  like  survey  of  their  own  State.  But  a  majority 
of  our  legislature,  being  unable  to  comprehend  these 
advantages,  or  to  foresee  any  benefits  which  would 
justify  the  expenditure  that  would  be  required  for 
such  a  survey,  refused  for  six  or  seven  years  to  make 
any  provision  for  it,  although  the  subject  was,  in  the 
mean  time,  urged  upon  their  attention  at  each  annual 
session  of  the  Legislature. 

At  length,  in  1844,  a  bill  was  passed,  by  a  small 
majority,  directing  the  Governor  to  appoint  a  State 
geologist  to  conduct  a  geological  survey  of  the  State, 
and  making  a  small  annual  appropriation  ($2000,) 
for  three  years,  to  defray  the  expense.  A  geologist 
was  appointed,  and  the  work  was  zealously  prosecu- 
ted during  the  continuance  of  the  appropriation  ;  and  I 
think  I  may  say,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  as 
much  labor  was  performed  and  as  much  investigation 
effected  as  were  ever  accomplished,  with  the  same 


expenditure,  in  any  other  State.  But  it  was  not  possi- 
ble, in  the  nature  of  things,  that  the  whole  State  should 
be  explored  and  the  whole  work  accomplished  in  so 
short  a  period,  with  so  small  an  annual  appropriation. 
At  the  close  of  the  three  years  there  still  remained 
some  portions  of  the  State  which  had  not  been  exam- 
ined, and  other  portions  of  which  circumstances  had 
rendered  a  re-examination  desirable ;  and  it  was 
confidently  expected  that  an  additional  appropriation 
would  be  made,  sufficient  to  enable  the  State  geolo- 
gist to  complete  the  necessary  examinations,  and 
prepare  for  publication  a  well  digested,  final  report. 
But  our  Legislature  have  thought  otherwise.  They 
have  now,  for  three  annual  sessions,  since  the  survey 
was  suspended,  refused  to  make  any  further  appro- 
priations for  that  object,  and  most  of  the  results  of  the 
labor  performed  seem  likely  to  be  lost  to  the  State  and 
to  science.  With  the  exception  of  what  is  contained 
in  the  brief  annual  reports,  nearly  all  that  remains  is 
locked  up,  in  short  hand  note,  in  the  field  books — in  the 
boxes  of  untrimmed  and  unticketed  specimens, — and 
in  the  heads  of  the  State  geologist  and  his  assistants. 

The  Green  Mountains  have,  for  some  years  past, 
presented  to  geologists  an  interesting  problem,  which 
was — the  determination  of  their  geological  age  and 
character,  and  particularly  the  age  and  character  of 
that  portion  of  the  western  slope  of  these  mountains 
which  has  been  denominated  the  Taconic  System. 
And  as  the  larger  part  of  this  range  of  mountains  was 
within  the  limits  of  Vermont,  the  attention  of  the  geol- 
ogists of  the  country  was  directed  to  the  geological 
survey  of  that  State,  as  being  likely  to  furnish  a  satis- 
factory solution  .of  the  problem ;  and  during  the  con- 


8 

tinuance  of  the  survey,  that  object  was  kept  constantly 
in  view  by  those  engaged  in  it.  Many  sections  were 
traced  eastward  from  the  well  known  Silurian  rocks, 
which  occupy  the  valley  of  Lake  Champlain,  to  the 
centre  of  the  Green  Mountain  range,  and  many  facts 
were  brought  to  light  which  have  an  important  bearing 
upon  the  problem  which  I  have  mentioned ;  but  just 
as  the  examinations  were  being  completed,  and  the 
results  and  facts  were  to  be  brought  together,  system- 
atized and  weighed,  the  survey  was  suspended ;  and 
whether  it  will  ever  be  resumed  or  not,  is  a  problem 
which  time  only  can  solve. 

The  rocks  in  the  western  part  of  Vermont,  in  the 
valley  of  Lake  Champlain,  are  highly  fossiliferous  and 
clearly  belong  to  that  portion  of  the  lower  Silurian, 
denominated  by  the  New  York  geologists  the  Cham- 
plain  group.  To  the  eastward  of  these,  and  mostly  in 
the,  south  part  of  the  State,  lie  the  so-called  Taconic 
rocks.  These  last  consist  principally  of  slates,  lime- 
stone,* and  quartz  rock.  A  few  fossils  are  believed  to 
have  been  found  in  them,  but  they  are  extremely  rare 
and  obscure;  and  the  question  with  regard  to  these 
rocks  is,  as  I  understand  it,  whether  they  are  a  series 
of  fossiliferous  rocks  which  are  older  than  the  Cham- 
plain  group,  or  are  metamorphic  members  of  that 
group,  whose  fossils  have  been  mostly  obliterated  by 
heat. 

To  the  eastward  of  the  Champlain  and  Taconic 
groups,  I  am  not  aware  that  any  fossiliferous  rocks 
have  been  found,  in  place,  within  the  State.  Lying  next 
to  these,  is  a  belt  of  talcose  slate  formation,  varying 

*  The  limestone  of  this  series  furnishes  inexhaustible  quarries 
of  the  most  beautiful  white  marble. 


from  15  to  30  miles  in  width,  and  extending"  through 
the  entire  length  of  the  State  from  south  to  north, 
This  belt  embraces  all  the  highest  summits  of  the 
Green  Mountain  range.  The  rocks,  though  generally 
more  or  less  talcose,  contain,  in  many  places,  a  large 
proportion  of  mica,  and,  in  some  places,  are  highly 
chloride.  Near  the  eastern  margin  of  this  belt  there 
is  a  narrow  range  of  steatite,  extending  through  the 
State,  having  associated  with  it  or  embraced  within  it, 
in  many  places,  extensive  beds  of  serpentine  rock, 
Which  are  capable  of  furnishing,  in  great  abundance, 
and  of  excellent  quality,  that  beautiful  variety  of  mag- 
nesian  marble,  called  Verd  Antique.  In  this  serpen- 
tine, in  the  north  part  of  the  State,  large  veins  of  the 
magnetic  oxyde,  and  also  of  the  chromic  iron,  have 
been  opened.  The  whole  belt  which  I  have  mentioned, 
is  entirely  destitute,  certainly  in  the  north  half  of  the 
State,  both  of  limestone  and  granite. 

Between  this  belt  of  Talcose  rocks  and  Connecticut 
river,  the  formation  consists  of  clay,  slate,  mica,  horn- 
blende, and  talcose  slates,  gneiss  and  limestone  fre- 
quently interstratified,  and  of  numerous  protrusions, 
and  some  extensive  regions  of  granite.  This  granite 
is  of  excellent  quality  for  building  stone,  but  the  lime^ 
stone  of  this  formation  is  all  too  siliceous  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  good  quicklime.* 

*  While  all  the  western  parts  of  Vermont  abound  .in  the  best  of 
limestone,  there  is  in  the  eastern  and  north-eastern  parts  of  the" 
State  no  limestone  from  which  good  quicklime  can  be  made.  Ill 
the  south-western  part  of  Windsor  county,  and  western  part  of 
Windham  county,  there  is  a  gray  limestone,  and  in  the  north-east- 
ern part  of  the  State  are  extensive  beds  of  shell  marl,  which  make 
a  tolerable  lime  for  ordinary  purposes.  These  marl-beds  were 

2 


10 

One  of  the  most  marked  peculiarities  in  the  geology 
of  Vermont,  is  found  in  the  general  dip  of  the  stratified 
rocks,  which  is,  with  a  few  trifling  exceptions,  towards 
a  synclinal  axis  extending  north  and  south  near  the 
centre  of  the  Green  Mountain  range.  Along  the  shore 
of  Lake  Champlain  the  rocks  are  nearly  horizontal, 
having  only  a  slight  easterly  dip ;  but  the  dip  increases 
pretty  uniformly,  in  proceeding  eastward,  till  it  becomes 
vertical  at  a  line  a  little  westward  of  the  principal 
summits  of  the  Green  Mountains.  From  this  line,  for 
a  distance  of  seven  or  eight  miles  eastward,  the  dip  of 
the  strata  continues  nearly  vertical.  This  space 
embraces  the  highest  part  of  the  mountain  range,  and, 
to  the  eastward  of  it,  the  general  dip  of  the  rocks  is 
distinctly  westward ;  but  the  rocks  are  here  more  dis- 
turbed, and  the  dip  less  uniform,  than  on  the  west  side 
of  the  mountains. 

With  regard  to  the  question,  whether  the  rocks, 
which  form  the  Green  Mountains  and  extend  east- 
ward to  Connecticut  river,  are  truly  primary,  or  ante- 
palffiozoic,  as  was  formerly  supposed,  or  are  metamor- 
phic  silurian  rocks,  which  are  newer  than  the  Cham- 
plain  group,  as  has  been  more  recently  suspected,  I 
would  only  observe,  that  evidence  in  favor  of  the  latter 

originally  formed  in  the  bottoms  of  ponds ;  but  these  ponds  have, 
in  many  cases,  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  places  they  occupied 
became  dry  land.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  marl-beds 
is  in  Williamstown.  It  covers  about  seven  acres,  and  is  in  some 
parts  18  feet  deep.  It  is  a  very  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  consisting 
entirely  of  comminuted  fresh  water  shells.  This  marl  is  formed 
into  a  paste,  moulded  in  the  form  of  bricks,  and  then  burned  in  a 
kiln.  The  quicklime  thus  obtained  is  quite  white,  and  for  most 
purposes  is  scarcely  inferior  to  that  obtained  from  the  Champlain 
and  Taconic  limestone. 


11 

opinion  was  constantly  accumulating"  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  our  survey,  and  has  been  greatly  increased 
by  the  labors  of  Mr.  Logan,  the  provincial  geologist 
of  Canada,  along  our  northern  boundary. 

The  rocks,  in  place,  in  Vermont,  are,  for  the  most 
part,  covered  by  the  drift  formation ;  but  wherever 
exposed,  they  are  found  to  be  worn  and  smoothed, 
and,  usually,  striated  or  scratched  in  the  direction  in 
which  the  drift  materials  have  been  transported,  which 
is,  generally,  from  a  little  west  of  north  to  a  little  east 
of.  south  ;  but  this  direction  is,  in  various  places,  very 
considerably  modified  by  the  direction  of  the  ridges 
and  valleys,  being  north  and  south  in  the  lower  parts 
of  the  valleys  of  Lake  Champlain  and  of  Connecticut 
river,  but  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  in  some 
places  nearly  from  west  to  east,  in  the  valleys  and 
gorges  of  the  Green  Mountains.  Vermont  furnishes 
many  veiy  interesting  cases  of  the  transportation  of 
boulders  to  a  distance  of  many  miles  from  the  quarries 
in  which  they  originated.  Rolled  masses  of  a  peculiar 
kind  of  granite,  often  of  several  tons  weight,  are  found 
scattered  over  the  lower  parts  of  Caledonia  county, 
from  20  to  30  miles  to  the  south-eastward  of  the  local- 
ity, in  Orleans  county,  from  which  they  were  evidently 
derived,  and  blocks  of  a  calcareous  sandstone,  found,  in 
place,  only  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  are 
met  with  far  into  the  interior  of  the  State,  and,  in  some 
cases,  to  the  eastward  of  the  principal  summits  of  the 
Green  Mountains.*  I  mention  these  merely  as  exam- 

*  Some  of  these  boulders  are  found  resting  at  a  level  50  feet  or 
more  above  the  highest  parts  of  the  same  rocks  as  they  are  now 
found  in  place. 


12 

pies.  Many  other  cases  might  be  adduced  of  equal 
interest. 

The  unstratified  drift  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State,  and  the  Champlain  rocks,  are  to  a  great  extent 
covered  by  a  post-tertiary  marine  deposit  of  stratified 
sand  and  clay,  which  has  been  called  the  Pleistocene 
formation.  The  strata  of  this  formation  are  nearly 
horizontal,  and  are,  for  the  most  part,  undisturbed  and 
regular,  showing-  that  they  were  deposited  in  a  tranquil 
sea.  The  depth  of  this  deposit,  in  places,  exceeds  100 
feet,  and  the  highest  parts  of  it  are  about  400  feet 
above  the  present  level  of  the  ocean.  The  fossils 
found  in  it  are  considerably  numerous,  and  are,  in 
general,  such  as  are  now  found  in  a  living  state  on  the 
coast  of  New  England.  The  fossil  bones  of  a  small 
species  of  whale,  which  I  had  the  pleasure  to  exhibit 
before  this  Society  in  December  last,  were  found  in 
this  formation. 

From  the  remarks  which  I  have  made,  it  must  be 
obvious  that  Vermont  combines  in  its  geology  the 
characteristics  of  western  New  England  with  those  of 
New  York.  The  meeting,  in  Vermont,  of  two  great 
botanical  and  zoological  districts  or  provinces,  is  equal- 
ly apparent. 

Vermont,  for  a  small  inland  State,  is  regarded  as 
peculiarly  rich  in  vegetable  productions ;  and  some 
portions  of  the  State  have  been  pretty  thoroughly 
explored  by  skiful  botanists.  When  its  settlement  was 
commenced,  its  entire  surface  was  covered  with  for- 
ests, which  were  probably  unsurpassed,  in  density  and 
luxuriance,  by  those  of  any  other  section  of  our  country 
of  equal  area.  The  sugar  maple  and  white  pine  found 
no  where  else  a  more  congenial  soil ;  and  the  ever- 


13 

greens,  spruce,  and  fir,  which  covered  the  surface  of 
our  mountains,  and  first  suggested  for  them  the  name 
of  Verd  Mont,  grow  to  a  respectable  size  almost  to 
their  highest  summits,  several  of  which  exceed  4,000 
feet  in  height.  With  the  exception  of  seven  or  eight 
species,  our  list  of  forest  trees  embraces  all  that  have 
hitherto  been  found  in  New  England,  and  three,  or 
more,  species,  which  have  been  found  in  no  other  New 
England  State. 

Aside  from  the  marine  plants  furnished  by  the  sea- 
board, and  a  few  alpine  plants  found  on  the  White 
Mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont  is  known  to 
produce  nearly  all  of  the  indigenous  plants  of  New 
England,  and  in  addition  to  these,  some  40  or  more 
species  which  are  not  found  in  any  other  New  Eng-r 
land  State.  These  40  or  more  species,  which  are  not 
found  to  the  eastward  of  Vermont,  are  mostly  confined 
to  the  western  border  of  the  State,  and  are,  in  general, 
such  as  are  common  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  fur- 
ther westward.  As  the  botany  of  Vermont  has  yet  been 
only  partially  explored,  there  still  being  considerable 
sections  of  the  State  which  no  skilful  botanist  has  ever 
visited,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  many 
new  plants  remain  to  stimulate  and  reward  the  labor 
of  future  search. 

While  the  laborers  in  Vermont,  in  the  fields  of 
geology  and  botany,  have  been  very  few,  those  engag- 
ed in  the  investigation  of  the  zoology  of  the  State  have 
been  still  fewer.  The  meagre  account  of  our  animals 
contained  in  Dr.  Williams'  valuable  history  of  Vermont, 
until  very  recently  embraced  almost  all  that  had  ever 
been  published  respecting  them.  But  that  work  was 
written  at  a  veiy  early  period,  when  the  subject  of 


14 

Natural  History,  in  this  country,  was  little  understood, 
and  when  an  examination  of  the  State,  to  which  it 
relates,  had  hardly  been  commenced.  In  that  work, 
(although  the  attempt  to  assign  to  our  animals  and  veg- 
tables  their  scientific  names,  was  a  failure,)  he  collected 
together  from  the  hunters  and  early  settlers,  much  that 
is  valuable  in  relation  to  the  magnitude,  habits,  &c.,  of 
our  larger  animals,  and  saved  from  oblivion  many  facts 
which  are  no  where  else  preserved. 

After  the  publication  of  Dr.  Williams'  history,  the 
last  edition  of  which  was  issued  more  than  40  years 
ago,  nothing  further  was  published  respecting  the 
Natural  History  of  the  State,  excepting  a  catalogue  of 
Vermont  minerals  by  Prof.  Frederick  Hall,  and  a 
catalogue  of  the  plants  of  Middlebury  and  vicinity,  by 
Dr.  Edwin  James,  previous,  to  the  publication  of  my 
Natural  and  Civil  History  of  the  State,  in  1842.  Hav- 
ing, myself,  devoted  considerable  attention  to  the 
vertebrala  of  the  State,  and  being  kindly  aided  in  the 
department  of  botany  by  the  late  William  Oakes,  Esq., 
of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  and  in  conchology  by  Prof.  C.  B. 
Adams,  then  of  Middlebury  College,  with  occasional 
assistance  in  other  branches  of  zoology,  kindly  ren- 
dered by  members  of  this  Society,  I  was  enabled  to 
embrace  in  that  work  nearly  all  that  was  then  known 
of  the  Natural  History  of  the  State.  Since  the  issue  of 
that  work,  much  more  has  been  done,  and  many  facts 
accumulated,  which  have  not  been  made  public,  and 
still  the  investigation  of  some  branches  of  the  Natural 
History  of  Vermont  is  not  yet  commenced. 

Quadrupeds  and  birds  possess  such  facilities  for  loco- 
motion, that  they  could  not  be  expected  in  Vermont 
to  differ  much  from  those  of  the  neighboring  States. 


15 

The  number  of  species  of  our  native  quadrupeds, 
which  have  been  carefully  determined,  is,  at  least,  45 ; 
and  of  birds  more  than  160  species  have  been  ascer- 
tained. 

Our  largest  native  quadruped,  the  Moose,  which 
grew  to  the  size  of  an  Ox,  and  whose  flesh  furnished 
to  our  early  settlers  an  excellent  substitute  for  beef,  is 
now,  if  not  entirely  exterminated,  confined  to  a  small 
section  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  State.  The 
Beaver,  whose  skin  was  once  an  important  article  of 
export,  is  wholly  extirpated.  The  Panther,  the  Wolf, 
the  Wolverine,  the  Deer,  the  Bear — in  short,  all  the 
larger  species,  have  been  gradually  diminishing,  and 
most  of  the  kinds  have  become  exceedingly  rare.  The 
native  black  Rat  (Mus  Americanus)  has  vanished, 
but  the  immigrant  gray  Rat,  (Mus  decumanus)  hasr 
in  some  parts  of  the  State,  usurped  its  place,  and 
has  become  a  great  nuisance.  Yet  it  is  a  curious 
fact  that  there  is,  in  the  north  part  of  the  State,  an> 
extensive  region,  which  has  been  settled  more  thaa 
half  a  century,  in  which,  it  is  said,  no  rats  were  ever 
seen. 

In  the  birds  of  Vermont,  considerable  changes  have 
taken  place,  since  the  settlement  of  the  country,  in  the 
number  of  individuals  of  the  same  species,  at  different 
periods ;  and  there  have  probably  been  also  a  with- 
drawal of  some  species  and  the  substitution  of  others, 
Of  some  species,  which  abounded  when  the  country 
was  new,  an  individual  is  now  seldom,  or  never  seen  ; 
while  other  species,  which  were  then  unknown,  have 
become  exceedingly  common.  The  American  Cross- 
bill, (Loxia  curcirostria)  and  red-headed  Woodpecker, 
erythroephalus,)  may  be  mentioned  as  exam- 


16 

pies  of  the  former,  and  the  Cliff  Swallow,  (Hirundo 
fulva:)  of  the  latter.  Forty  years  ago,  as  I  well  remem- 
ber, the  red-headed  Woodpecker  was  one  of  the  most 
common  birds  in  our  forests ;  but  it  is  now  so  rare 
that,  while  I  have  travelled  extensively  over  the  State, 
I  have  hardly  seen  half  a  dozen  in  the  last  20  years. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  cannot  learn  that  a  Cliff  Swallow 
was  ever  seen  in  Vermont  till  about  the  year  1817 ; 
but  they  now  swarm  in  hundreds,  about  the  eaves  of 
barns  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 

While  the  species  of  the  two  higher  classes  of  the 
vertebrata  of  Vermont  are,  generally,  the  same  as  in 
the  other  New  England  States,  the  case  is  quite  differ- 
ent with  regard  to  the  reptiles  and  fishes  ;  so  much  so, 
that,  in  reference  to  these,  the  Western  part  of  Ver- 
mont clearly  belongs  to  a  different  zoological  district 
from  the  eastern,  and  from  the  other  parts  of  New 
England.  The  dividing  line  between  these  districts  is 
along  the  summits  of  the  Green  Mountain  range,  which 
separate  the  waters  falling  into  Connecticut  river  from 
those  which  are  tributary  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  The 
reptiles  and  fishes  found  in  Vermont  to  the  eastward  of 
this  line,  are  such  as  are  common  in  other  parts  of 
New  England,  while  those  found  to  the  westward  of 
it,  are  generally  different,  corresponding,  for  the  most 
part,  with  the  fauna  of  Western  New  York.  Of  the 
reptiles  found  in  the  western  part  of  Vermont,  which 
are  not,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  found  to  the  eastward 
of  the  Green  Mountains,  may  be  mentioned  the  Emys 
geographica,  the  Trionyx  ferox,  the  Rana  horiconcnses 
and  the  Menobranchus  maculatus.  Our  Eibbon  SnakCj 
if  identical,  as  it  probably  is,  with  the  Coluber  Sauriter 
of  the  eastern  part  of  New  England,  often  far  exceeds 


17 

in  length    the  measurement   of  this  species  usually 
given  in  books.* 

But  the  fishes  on  the  two  sides  of  this  dividing  line 
differ  even  more  than  the  reptiles.  The  whole  number 
of  species  of  Vermont  fishes  is  about  fifty.  Of  these, 
more  than  forty  species  are  pretty  well  determined ; 
and  of  those  determined,  not  more  than  four  or  five 
are  common  to  the  two  sides  of  the  Green  Mountains. 
There  are  perhaps  seven  or  eight  species,  which  are 
found  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains  and  not  on  the 
west,  and  at  least  thirty  species  on  the  west  side, 
which  are  not  found  in  any  Vermont  waters  on  the 
east  side ;  and  more  than  twenty  of  these  thirty  spe- 
cies are  not,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  found  in  any  other 
New  England  waters.  Of  these  twenty  or  more  spe- 
cies not  found  to  the  southeastward  of  western  Ver- 
mont, six  belong  to  the  Perch  family,  four  to  the  Sal- 
mon family,  three  to  the  Herring  family,  two  to  the  Pike 
family,  two  or  more  to  the  Carp  family,  one  Cottus,  one 
Corvina,  one  Catfish,  one  Eel,  and  one  Sturgeon.t 

*  The  largest  individual  which  I  have  seen,  of  this  speciesT  I 
found  near  Lonerock  Point,  in  Burlington,  in  1845.  It  had  been 
killed  a  short  time  before  I  found  it,  and  about  one  half  of  the 
tail  had  been  broken  off  and  was  missing.  The  remainder  meas- 
ured 35  inches,  and  the  body  was  a  little  more  than  one  inch  in 
diameter.  The  tail  in  this  species  being  about  one  third  the  total 
length,  the  whole  length  of  the  individual  measured,  must  have 
been  about  42  inches.  This  snake  is  quite  common  in  the  low 
grounds  about  the  mouths  of  rivers  and  streams  in  the  vicinity  of 
Lake  Champlain,  but  is  never  found  upon  the  highlands,  nor  at 
any  considerable  distance  from  the  lake. 

t  The  following  are  the  species  : — Lucio-perca  Americana,  L. 
grisea,  Centrarchus  fasciatus,  C.  jcneus,  Etheostoma  caprodes, 
Percopsis  pellucida,  Salmo  amcthystus,  S.  confinis,  Coregonua 

3 


18 

The  Mollusca  of  Vermont  have,  by  the  labors  of 
Prof.  G.  W.  Benedict  ajid  Prof.  C.  B.  Adams,  been 
pretty  thoroughly  examined,  but  hardly  any  attention 
has  been  given  to  the  other  classes  of  our  invertebrated 
animals.  There  are,  I  believe,  a  few  species  of  fresh 
water  Mollusks,  in  Lake  Champlain,  which  have  been 
found  nowhere  else,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
species  which  are  not  found  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Green  Mountains.  One  of  these  last,  is  the  Limna3a 
megasoma  ;  and  the  only  known  locality  of  this  species 
in  Vermont  is  in  Burlington,  where  they  have  some- 
times been  found  plentifully  in  a  few  small  creeks  in 
low  stages  of  the  water,  but  from  which  it  is  feared 
they  will  soon  be  exterminated  by  the  drying  up  of  the 
creeks,  in  consequence  of  their  having  become  exposed 
to  the  sun  and  winds  by  the  removal  of  the  forest  trees 
and  shrubbery  which  protected  them. 

Having  given  this  brief  and  imperfect  sketch  of  the 
present  condition  of  natural  histoiy  in  Vermont,  I  pro- 
ceed to  a  few  general  remarks  respecting  the  cultiva- 
tion of  natural  history  in  countiy  places.  One  very 
important  advantage  for  the  cultivation  of  natural  his- 
tory in  a  new  country,  during  its  transformation  from 
dense  and  unbroken  forests  to  cleared  and  cultivated 
farms,  arises  from  the  opportunity  it  affords  for  observing 
the  original  distribution  of  plants  and  animals,  and  not- 
ing the  manner  in  which  that  distribution  is  affected  in 
consequence  of  the  changes  wrought  by  human  agency. 
Even  within  the  narrow  limits  of  Vermont,  the  chan- 

albus,  C.  artedi,  Hyodon  clodalus,  Lepisosteus  oxyurus,  Amia 
calva,  Esox  estor,  E.  nobilior,  Catystomus  cyprinus,  Hydrargara 
fusca,  Cottus  gobioides,  Corvina  ascula,  Pimelodus  nicricaus,  An- 
guilla  vulgaris,  and  Acipenser  rubicundus. 


19 

ges  in  the  distribution  of  the  animals,  since  the  settle- 
ment of  the  State  was  commenced,  have  been  of  a 
marked  and  decided  character.  These  changes  in  the 
two  higher  classes  of  the  vertebrata,  have  already  been 
alluded  to.  They  are  equally  great  in  the  two  lower 
classes,  particularly  in  the  fishes. 

When  the  first  settlements  were  made  in  Vermont, 
and  for  many  years  afterwards,  the  noble  Salmon 
(Salmo  solar)  abounded  in  Connecticut  river  and  in 
Lake  Champlain,  and  in  all  their  principal  tributaries. 
And  where  is  it  now  1  Not  a  solitary  individual  has, 
to  my  knowledge,  been  observed  in  our  waters  for 
many  years.  When  the  countiy  was  new,  almost 
every  stream  in  the  State  literally  swarmed  with  brook 
trout  (Salmo  fontinalis).  This  was  true  in  many 
parts,  even  within  my  own  recollection  ;  and  in  the 
smaller  streams  among  the  mountains,  this  was  almost 
the  only  fish  ever  seen.  But  they  have  now  nearly  all 
disappeared  from  the  older  parts  of  the  State,  and 
their  place  is,  irt  some  measure,  occupied  by  a  few 
small  and  worthless  species  of  Cyprinidse.  The  ponds 
also  abounded  in  trout,  which,  with  those  from  the 
streams,  furnished  an  important  part  of  the  sustenance 
of  the  early  settlers.  But  these  early  settlers,  not  con- 
tent with  the  natural  distribution  of  our  fishes,  sought 
to  improve  it  by  the  introduction  of  the  voracious  pick- 
erel into  these  trout  ponds  ;  thus  securing  their  aid  in 
the  extermination  of  the  delicious  trout,  and  in  depriv- 
ing themselves  of  that  rich  boon  which  Providence  had 
provided  for  them ;  and  these  pickerel  were  not  slow 
in  performing  the  work  of  destruction. 

In  most  new  countries  there  are  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  origin  of  the  streams,  which  greatly 


20 

facilitate  and  extend  the  range  of  those  species  of  rep- 
tiles and  fishes  whose  habitat  is  chiefly  in  spring's  and 
small  brooks.  Where  the  grounds  are  covered  with 
dense  forests,  which  prevent  evaporation  from  their 
surface,  and  with  logs  and  leaves,  which  prevent  the 
waters  from  passing  quickly  off  into  the  streams,  it  is 
quite  common  to  find,  not  in  level  countries  only,  but 
in  mountainous  regions,  two,  or  more,  streams  originat- 
ing from  the  same  swamp,  or  pond,  or  fountain,  and 
running  off  in  opposite  directions,  and  through  different 
large  rivers,  to  the  ocean.  Several  cases  of  this  kind 
are  well  known  to  have  existed  among  the  Green 
Mountains  in  Vermont,  through  which  trout  and  other 
small  fishes,  and  reptiles,  might  pass  without  difficulty 
from  one  side  of  the  mountain  to  the  other — from  the 
tributaries  of  the  Connecticut  into  the  tributaries  of 
Lake  Champlain,  and  vice  versa.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  of  these  was  in  Williamstown,  near  the 
centre  of  the  State.  The  lowest  summit  level  between 
Connecticut  river  and  Lake  Champlain  is  in  that  town, 
in  a  considerable  valley,  extending  nearly  north  and 
south  through  what  is  called  the  height  of  land,  and 
is  908  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  From  the 
eastern  slope,  which  forms  one  side  of  this  valley,  and 
directly  against  the  summit  level,  there  descended  into 
it  a  considerable  trout  stream;  but  just  before  this 
stream  reached  the  highest  point  in  the  bottom  of  the 
valley,  towards  which  it  was  tending,  it  divided  itself 
naturally  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  one  of  which 
flowed  southward,  through  White  river,  into  the  Con- 
necticut, and  the  other  northward,  through  Winooski 
river,  into  Lake  Champlain ;  thus  opening  to  fishes  of 
considerable  size  an  easy  communication  between  the 
two  slopes  of  the  Green  Mountains., 


21 

The  pickerel,  not  delighting-  in  the  cold  spring  water 
of  the  highland  streams,  appear  never  to  have  availed 
themselves,  as  they  probably  might  have  done,  of  these 
facilities  for  inter-communication ;  for  the  species  are 
well  known  to  have  been  originally  unlike  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  mountains — the  Esox  reticulatus  being 
confined  to  the  east  side,  and  the  Esox  estor  to  the  west 
side.  The  estor,  it  is  true,  is  now  found  in  Connecticut 
river,  and  is  taken  somewhat  plentifully  at  Bellows 
Falls;  but  it  is  equally  true,  that  he  found  his  way 
there  by  human  means,  and  in  modern  times..  Pickerel 
were  taken  from  the  west  side  of  the  mountains  and 
placed  in  a  pond,  on  the  east  side,  in  the  south  part  of 
Windsor  county,  whose  outlet  is  a  tributary  of  the  Con- 
necticut. From  this  pond  they  descended  into  the 
Connecticut,  where  they  have  multiplied,  and  are  now 
often  taken  weighing  several  pounds. 

The  estor  in  the  Connecticut  is  distinguished  from 
the  indigenous  pickerel  by  the  vulgar  name  of  Pike. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  mountains  it  is  everywhere 
called  the  pickerel,  or  lake  pickerel,  by  those  who 
are  aware  that  it  is  a  different  species  from  the  retic- 
ulatus, or  common  pickerel  of  New  England ;  and 
a  fish  of  the  perch  family,  the  American  pike  perch 
(JLucio-perca  americana)  is  there  generally  understood 
by  the  vulgar  name  of  pike. 

In  comparing  specimens  of  the  E.  estor  from  Con- 
necticut river  with  those  from  Lake  Champlain,  it  has 
appeared  to  me  that  there  is  a  perceptible  difference  in 
their  general  form  and  aspect,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  are  known  to  be  identical  in  species.  A  like  gen- 
eral difference  is  observable  in  the  E.  reticulatus  from 
different  ponds,  and  also  in  the  brook  trout  and  some 


22 

other  species  of  fishes ;  and  this  difference  is  often  so 
marked,  that  people  in  the  country,  who  are  familiar 
with  several  localities,  profess  to  be  able  to  designate 
the  locality  from  which  specimens  were  derived,  from 
the  general  aspect  of  the  fish.  These  facts  plainly 
show  that  very  considerable  variety  may  be  produced 
in  a  species  by  local  circumstances;  and  since  the 
variation  may  often  be  so  increased  by  accidental  pecu- 
liarities in  the  individuals,  which  are  the  progenitors  of 
the  species  in  the  new  locality,  it  has  appeared  to  me 
that  naturalists  should  be  more  cautious  than  they 
seem  sometimes  to  have  been,  in  founding  new  spe- 
cies upon  variations,  which  might  be  supposed  to  have 
arisen,  in  any  way,  from  individual  peculiarities,  change 
of  habit,  or  local  circumstances,  or  from  all  these  causes 
combined.  But  this  is  a  subject  upon  which,  perhaps, 
on  account  of  the  limited  sphere  of  my  observations 
and  knowledge,  it  is  not  becoming  in  me  to  express  an 
opinion. 

Another  very  important  advantage  afforded  by  the 
country  for  the  cultivation  of  natural  history,  consists 
in  the  opportunity  which  the  country  furnishes  for 
observing  the  various  productions  in  their  natural  rela- 
tions to  their  localities.  Plants  may  be  studied  by  the 
aid  of  books,  and  drawings,  and  herbals,  and  botanic 
gardens ;  but  how  imperfect  must  be  the  knowledge 
acquired  by  the  help  of  all  these,  without  the  advan- 
tage of  observing  their  growth  in  their  native  soil — in 
the  localities  where  they  were  planted  and  reared  by 
their  Creator's  hand !  And  so  too  of  the  various  tribes 
of  animated  beings.  They  may  be  studied  in  books, 
and  museums,  and  menageries,  to  very  little  purpose, 
unless  they  are  also  studied  in  the  natural  conditions, 


23 

and  elements,  and  relations,  in  which  the  God  of 
nature  placed  them.  These  last  it  is  which  constitute 
the  most  interesting,  instructive,  and  important  part  of 
their  study. 

Another  advantage  for  the  study  of  natural  history 
possessed  by  those  who  reside  constantly  in  the  coun- 
try, arises  from  the  opportunity  furnished  for  observing 
the  various  indigenous  productions  through  all  the  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  and  through  all  their  periods  and  sta- 
ges of  growth  and  decay.  The  natural  history  of  veg- 
etables can  be  well  understood  only  by  observing  the 
soil,  the  seed,  the  germination,  the  growth,  the  leaves, 
the  flowers,  the  fruits,  the  structure  and  the  decay  ;  and 
the  study  of  these  requires  their  constant  presence  and 
a  continuous  series  of  observations.  Arid  the  same  is 
true  of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  especially  of  the  ani- 
mals of  the  lower  order.  What  could  we  learn  of  the 
natural  history  of  an  insect  by  observing  it  in  only  one 
of  the  stages  of  its  existence  ?  To  obtain  a  knowl- 
edge of  its  history,  it  must  be  studied  in  all  its  stages. 
The  egg,  the  larva,  the  pupa  and  the  imago,  all  these — 
their  developement,  growth,  food  and  habitat,  from 
stage  to  stage  ; — all  these  must  be  carefully  observed, 
in  order  that'  its  complete  history  be  understood.  And 
what  class  of  men  is  so  favorably  situated  for  making 
these  observations  as  our  agriculturists — our  farmers 
who  reside  in  the  country,  and  spend  a  large  propor- 
tion of  their  time  in  the  fields,  and  in  places  where 
these  various  processes  and  metamorphoses  are  con- 
stantly going  on  before  their  eyes  '? 

Such  are  the  advantages  which  country  places  offer, 
and  which  those  who  reside  in  the  country  might  enjoy ; 
but  we  find  them  almost  universally  unheeded.  The 


24 

varied  and  beautiful  operations  of  nature  are  constantly 
going1  on ;  but  they  are  almost  unobserved  and  unknown 
by  the  thousands  in  whose  immediate  presence  they 
are  occurring,  and  to  whom  they  might  become  not 
only  the  source  of  rational  and  enduring  pleasure,  but 
of  high  intellectual  and  moral  improvement.  It  may 
not,  therefore,  be  amiss  to  advert  briefly  to  the  causes 
of  this  indifference  and  apparent  neglect  of  these 
advantages.  The  chief  causes  of  the  general  indiffer- 
ence to  the  subject  of  natural  history  in  country  places, 
and  to  the  beauties  and  harmonies  of  the  material 
world,  as  it  appears  to  me,  lie  in  the  defects  of  early 
education,  and  the  want  of  suitable  books  and  instru- 
mentalities for  the  successful  practical  cultivation  of  the 
natural  sciences. 

It  is  well  known  that  all  children  are  interested  and 
delighted  with  the  objects  of  natural  history ;  and 
hence  it  is  that  parents  resort  to  the  representatives  of 
these  objects — to  pictures  of  beasts  and  birds,  and 
fishes  and  flowers,  as  the  most  convenient  and  effec- 
tual means  of  pacifying  and  amusing  their  children. 
And  is  it  not  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  this  disposi- 
tion to  be  interested  and  pleased  with  the  productions 
of  nature,  which  is  thus  manifested  in  early  infancy, 
would,  if  properly  cultivated  and  encouraged,  increase 
with  their  increase  of  years,  and  be  to  them,  through 
the  whole  course  of  their  lives,  an  increasing  and  ever- 
flowing  fountain  of  rational  pleasure  and  improvement  ? 
Not  that  they  would  all  become  expert  scientific  natu- 
ralists, but  they  would  all  become  such  careful  and 
philosophical  observers  of  nature,  as  to  be  able  to 
understand  and  admire  its  order,  and  beauty,  and  har- 
mony, and  to  trace  therein  the  power,  and  wisdom, 
and  goodness  of  its  Divine  Author. 


25 

But  has  there  been  anything  done,  any  measures 
taken,  to  encourage  and  perpetuate,  through  childhood 
and  youth  and  up  to  manhood,  that  taste  and  fondness 
for  natural  history  which  are  so  universally  developed 
in  infancy  ?  On  the  contrary,  the  general  course  of  the 
training  of  children  in  school  has  hitherto  been  such  as 
was  calculated  to  obliterate,  or  suppress,  this  taste — 
such  as  was  calculated,  practically,  to  impress  upon 
their  minds  the  notion,  that  those  natural  objects  which 
had  made  them  so  happy  in  infancy,  were  the  mere 
toys  of  that  early  period,  which  were  unworthy  to 
engage  their  attention,  or  be  remembered  in  the  more 
advanced  periods  of  childhood  and  youth.  To  spell 
words  without  knowing  their  meaning,  to  read  senten- 
ces with  fluency,  without  understanding  them,  to  recite 
the  geography  of  the  countries  of  the  world,  while  their 
thoughts  ranged  no  farther  than  the  maps  before  them 
—exercises  like  these  have  usually  absorbed  nearly 
the  whole  time  of  children  in  the  school-room,  and, 
practically,  deprived  them  of  the  means  and  motives 
for  understanding,  appreciating,  and  enjoying  what  is 
real,  and  valuable,  and  beautiful  in  the  productions  of 
the  natural  world  around  them. 

But  it  is  hoped  that,  in  this  respect,  a  better  day  is 
now  dawning  upon  our  country,  and  that  the  time  is 
not  far  distant,  when  instruction  in  natural  history  shall 
occupy  its  true  place,  and  receive  its  due  share  of  at- 
tention in  all  our  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning. 
The  facilities  for  illustrating  this  branch  of  knowledge 
are  abundant  and  available  in  every  neighborhood ; 
and  let  the  pupils  in  our  schools  be  encouraged  in  col- 
lecting them,  and  aided  in  examining  and  understand- 
ing them,  and  they  will  at  length  acquire  such  habits 
4 


26 

of  careful  observation  and  discrimination,  as  will  be  of 
incalculable  service  to  them  in  after  life.  As  their 
knowledge  of  the  objects  and  phenomena  of  nature 
increases,  there  will  be  a  constant  increase  of  the  pleas- 
ure of  observing-  its  variety,  and  beauty,  and  harmony ; 
and  they  will,  in  time,  become  so  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  'naturalist,  that  they  will  go  forth  from 
the  school-room  to  their  rural  occupations,  prepared  to 
derive  enjoyments  from  them,  which  none  but  the  stu- 
dent of  nature  can  know.  Although  very  few  of  them 
may  be  expected  to  become  familiar  with  the  minute 
details  of  natural  history,  yet  they  will  all  have  acquired 
such  tastes  and  habits,  and  so  much  knowledge,  as  will 
make  them  always  interested  and  delighted  with  ob- 
jects, and  aspects,  and  operations  of  nature  around 
them.  When  they  go  forth  into  the  field  with  the 
plough,  the  hoe,  the  sickle,  or  the  scythe,  where  the 
ordinary  laborer  is  cheered  onward  by  no  other  motive, 
or  object,  than  pecuniary  gain — the  hope  of  well-filled 
barns,  and  granaries,  and  cellars — they,  in  addition  to 
these  more  sordid  motives,  will  be  animated,  delighted 
and  more  amply  rewarded  by  observing  the  manifold 
workings  of  that  beneficent  Providence,  which  so  liber- 
ally rewards  them  for  all  their  toil.  The  observance  of 
the  genial  influence  of  sun  and  rains — the  process  of 
vegetation  through  all  its  stages  of  growth  and  decay — 
the  transformations,  and  changes,  and  habits  of  insects, 
and  other  animals,  and  their  relations  to  the  business 
and  interests  of  the  farmer — in  short,  the  enlightened 
contemplation  and  study  of  the  countless  variety  of  the 
Creator's  works,  are  constantly  leading  them  to  rejoice 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  infinite  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  the  Almighty  Creator. 


Notwithstanding  the  prevailing  general  indifference 
to  the  subject  of  natural  history  in  country  places,  this 
indifference  is  by  no  means  universal.  Many  there  are, 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  who,  in  spite  of  educa- 
tion, (or  the  want  of  it,)  delight  in  watching  and  tracing 
the  various  operations  of  nature,  and  who  have  acquired 
by  their  own  individual  observations,  a  large  amount  of 
knowledge  of  the  productions  and  objects  around 
them  ;  but  who  for  the  want  of  instruction,  and  books, 
and  specimens,  are,  for  the  most  part,  unable,  success- 
fully, to  push  forward  their  labors,  or  so  to  arrange 
their  results,  as  to  make  them  serviceable  to  others. 
And  yet  I  have  known  persons  in  the  backwoods  of 
Vermont,  while  wholly  unacquainted  with  natural  his- 
tory as  a  science,  acquire  by  their  personal  attention 
and  observation,  so  much  knowledge  of  the  habits  of 
insects,  and  birds,  and  other  animals  of  their  neighbor- 
hood, as  to  be  able  to  furnish  to  the  naturalist  positive 
and  valuable  additions  to  science.  And  even  some  of 
our  uninstructed  housewives,  by  their  habits  of  careful 
discrimination  in  the  process  of  cooking,  obtain  so 
accurate  a  knowledge  of  various  animals  used  for  food, 
as  might  sometimes  enable  them  to  put  the  professed 
comparative  anatomist  to  the  blush  for  his  ignorance. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  exclusion  of  natural  history 
from  our  schools  as  the  great  cause  of  the  general 
apathy  and  indifference  to  that  subject  in  country  places. 
The  same  cause  is,  perhaps,  equally  operative  in  towns 
and  cities ;  but  these  latter  possess,  in  their  easy  access 
to  large  libraries  and  cabinets,  and  in  their  wider  range 
and  greater  facilities  for  the  collection  of  specimens 
through  the  avenues  of  commerce,  advantages  of  which 
they,  who  may  desire  to  cultivate  natural  history  in  the 
country,  are  entirely  deprived. 


28 

The  great  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  cultivation  of 
the  natural  sciences  in  the  country,  where  there  is  a 
disposition  to  do  it,  are  the  want  of  suitable  books  and 
collections,  and  the  want  of  time  to  use  them.  The 
people  of  Vermont  are  mostly  agriculturists,  who  culti- 
vate their  farms  with  their  own  hands,  and  who  depend 
upon  the  productions  of  the  soil  for  their  subsistence ; 
and  being1  thus  obliged,  "  in  the  sweat  of  their  brow 
to  eat  their  bread,"  they  have  very  little  time  to  spare 
for  any  other  pursuit.  Even  if  good  public  libraries 
and  collections  were  at  hand,  very  few  could  find  leis- 
ure from  their  necessary  occupations,  for  the  researches, 
among1  a  multiplicity  of  books,  which  would  be  required 
in  the  successful  prosecution  of  any  one  department  of 
natural  history.  But  of  libraries  and  collections  of  nat- 
ural history  there  have  hitherto  been  none  in  Vermont 
which  deserve  the  name,  and  for  the  want  of  them, 
many  a  tyro,  who  had  entered  with  ardor  upon  some 
favorite  branch  of  natural  history,  has  become  discour- 
aged and  obliged  to  relinquish  the  pursuit  in  despair. 
Ten  years  ago,  a  respectable  library  for  the  use  of  a 
naturalist  could  not  have  been  culled  from  all  the  pub- 
lic and  private  libraries  and  all  the  bookstores  in  Ver- 
mont ;  and  although  there  has  been,  since  that  time, 
great  improvement  in  this  respect,  the  deficiency  of 
works  on  natural  history,  in  our  public  libraries,  is  still 
very  great.* 


*  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  these  remarks,  that  we  have  no 
good  public  libraries  in  Vermont.  The  remarks  have  been  made 
with  particular  reference  to  deficiencies  in  the  department  of  Nat- 
ural History.  The  library  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  though 
numbering  only  about  8,000  volumes,  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  best 


29 

In  the  illustration  of  this  matter,  I  must  beg1  the 
indulgence  of  the  Society  with  a  little  of  my  own  expe- 
rience. I  will  confine  myself  to  the  department  of 
ichthyology ;  but  it  was  nearly  the  same  in  all  the 
other  departments. 

When  I  first  turned  my  attention  to  the  ichthyology 
of  Vermont,  the  only  scientific  work  on  fishes  within 
my  reach,  was  Dr.  Mitchell's  paper  on  the  fishes  of 
New  York,  contained  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  New  York  Philosophical  Society.  With 
that  work  only  for  my  guide,  I  labored  long*  and  hard 
to  determine  the  species  of  fishes  inhabiting-  the  waters 
of  Vermont,  and  with  how  little  success  I  labored, 
they  who  are  acquainted  with  that  work  need  not  to  be 
informed.  At  length,  through  the  kindness  of  my 
friend,  the  Hon.  G.  P.  Marsh,  now  United  States  Min- 
ister at  Constantinople,  I  was  presented  with  the  third 
volume  of  Dr.  Richardson's  Fauna  Boreali  Americana  ; 
and  about  the  same  time,  my  friend,  Dr.  D.  H.  Storer, 
presented  me  with  a  copy  of  his  excellent  Report  on 
the  Fishes  of  Massachusetts.  Subsequently,  I  have  ob- 
tained Dr.  DeKay's  Report  on  the  Fishes  of  New  York, 
and  some  few  other  works,  and  have  had  access  to  por- 
tions of  the  Journals  of  this  Society,  and  of  the  New 
York  Lyceum  of  Natural  Histoiy,  and  of  the  Academy 
of  Natural  History  at  Philadelphia  ;  but,  till  within  the 
past  year,  I  have  not  had  the  benefit  of  a  single  speci- 
men from  abroad  to  aid  me  by  way  of  comparison. 

Experiencing  so  many  difficulties  myself,  and  know- 
ing others  to  be  laboring  under  like  embarrassments,  I 

selected  libraries,  in  reference  to  general  literature,  to  be  found  in 
the  country,  and  is,  probably,  more  valuable  than  many  public 
libraries  which  contain  twice  the  number  of  volumes. 


30 

reflected  much  upon  the  possibility  of  a  remedy  for 
them.  I  saw  at  once  that  adequate  private  or  public 
libraries  could  not  be  had  in  the  country  on  account  of 
their  great  expense ;  and  that,  if  they  existed,  very 
few,  in  an  agricultural  community,  could  spare  the 
time  which  would  be  requisite  to  consult  them,  to  any 
profit,  on  matters  of  practical  natural  history,  in  the 
present  diffused  and  scattered  condition  of  the  materi- 
als of  that  science.  I  also  perceived  that  the  new  dis- 
coveries in  the  natural  sciences  were  promulgated 
through  so  great  a  variety  of  publications,  as  to  render 
it  utterly  impossible  for  a  person  engaged  in  the  culti- 
vation of  natural  history  in  the  country  to  keep  himself 
informed  of  the  progress  of  discovery  in  any  particular 
branch  of  the  science. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  best  remedy  for  the 
evils  I  have  mentioned,  which  presented  itself  to  my 
imind,  was  the  formation  of  a  national  natural  history 
society,  of  which  all  the  societies  of  natural  history  in 
Xhe  country  should  be  auxiliaries.  An  important  part 
-of  the  business  of  this  society  should  be  the  publication 
.of  full  and  accurate  manuals  of  the  different  depart- 
ments of  natural  history,  in  which  all  the  materials  of 
ieach  should  be  posted  up  and  arranged  in  their  proper 
order ;  and,  after  that,  the  preparation  and  publication, 
from  time  to  time,  of  journals  of  the  progress  of  science 
in  its  several  departments,  compiled  from  the  papers 
and  doings  of  the  auxiliary  societies,  and  other  authen- 
tic sources.  Manifold,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  would  be 
the  advantages  of  such  a  plan.  It  would  enable  the 
smaller  societies,  which  have  not  the  means  of  publish- 
ing their  proceedings,  to  make  known  to  the  world  all 
the  valuable  results  of  their  labors.  It  would  bring 


31 

together,  in  order,  all  that  is  now  known  in  each 
department  of  natural  history,  and  it  would  furnish  a 
ready  and  cheap  means  of  keeping  pace  with  the  pro- 
gress of  discovery.  Being  calculated  for  general  circu- 
lation, large  editions  would  be  required,  by  which  the 
cost  would  be  so  much  diminished  as  to  bring  them 
within  the  reach  of  all  who  might  be  inclined  to  use 
them. 

For  persons  who  can  devote  but  little  tjme  to  the 
subject  of  natural  history,  such  manuals  and  journals, 
with  such  collateral  helps  as  could  easily  be  obtained, 
would  be  much  more  serviceable  than  large  libraries- 
without  them.  They  would  be  always  at  hand,  fur- 
nishing a  systematic  view  of  the  whole  science ;  andi 
they  might  be  consulted  during  the  respites  from  labor,, 
for  information  respecting  the  objects  which  had  fallen 
under  their  observation  in  the  field. 

While  revolving  in  my  mind  the  plan  I  have  faintly 
sketched,  with  scarcely  any  hope  that  it  would  ever  be- 
realized,  I  was  much  gratified  to  learn,  about  three- 
years  ago,  that  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Wash- 
ington was  making  arrangements  for  the  publication  of 
reports  of  the  progress  of  science,  almost  precisely  o» 
the  plan  which  had  suggested  itself  to  me.  I  was 
gratified,  because  I  knew  the  Institution  possessed  the 
means,  and,  I  presumed,  the  disposition  also,  to  furnish 
these  reports  at  so  cheap  a  rate  as  to  place  them 
within  the  reach  of  eveiy  tyro  in  natural  history  in  the 
country.  Let  this  Institution  publish  manuals  also,  in 
which  all  the  important  facts  in  the  several  branches 
of  natural  history  are  carefully  posted  up  to-  the  com- 
mencement of  the  reports,  and  let  these,  too,  be  fur- 
nished cheaply  to  all  who  will  use  them ;  and,  if  I  am. 


32 

not  greatly  mistaken,  the  Institution  would  in  that  way 
do  very  much  "  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge among  men,"  and  would  thus  effectually  aid  in 
accomplishing  the  benevolent  objects  of  its  founder. 

I  feel,  gentlemen,  that  I  have  trespassed  too  long 
upon  your  kind  indulgence,  and  wearied  you  with  details 
in  which  you  can  have  felt  but  little  interest ;  and  yet, 
I  have  dwelt  upon  few  of  the  many  advantages  which 
would  result  from  a  more  general  diffusion  of  the 
knowledge  of  Natural  History  through  the  country, 
and  from  a  more  general  spirit  of  inquiry  on  the  sub- 
ject. Much  might  be  said  of  the  cultivation  of  Natural 
History  as  a  source  of  individual  enjoyment.  Paradox- 
ical as  it  may  seem,  it  enables  us  to  lead  a  life  of  pleas- 
ure, while  we  are  at  the  same  time  pursuing  a  life  of 
business.  It  refines  and  improves  our  moral  sensibili- 
ties, and  sharpens  and  invigorates  our  intellectual 
powers.  It  promotes  health  of  body,  by  inducing  hab- 
its of  cheerfulness  and  serenity  of  mind.  It  enlarges 
our  views  of  the  Divine  power,  and  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  and  awakens  continual  gratitude  to  God  for 
the  rich  provision  he  has  made  for  our  support  and 
happiness  here,  and  for  training  and  fitting  us  for  that 
new  earth,  which  we  hope  to  inhabit  hereafter. 


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